Cheryl: We left San Antonio on Sunday and made it all the way to the KOA in Van Horn, Texas. Not much to say about tiny Van Horn except that we left the humidity behind, but not the heat. Our views were the wide-open spaces we've come to expect living in the desert southwest. Awesome mountains bordered the desert on one side of our gritty campground.
In the middle of the night I opened the trailer door to see the stars forming Orion appering to be just out of my reach in a startlingly clear sky. Not many lights around to block the view of the heavenlies, and it felt like home as I always see Orion when I go out to pick up the newspaper (or used to when I had to get up early for work!).
Our destination when we left Van Horn was Lordsburg, New Mexico, but as you can see from the following post from Frank, we made it all the way home from Texas to Phoenix on Monday evening around 6:30 p.m. After a good night's sleep in our own bed, we're mostly unpacked and the washing machine is going full tilt. The backyard furniture is covered in sandy grit from the dust storms that blew through while we were gone. That clean-up chore will have to wait a day or two.
The garden and grass have gone wild out back and I've got melon vines growing through the fence toward the pool and across the grass. Flowers mixed in with the melons look great as they're blooming like crazy. The marigolds look like they took steriods, and there are red bell peppers ready to pick! It's wonderful seeing a garden grow in a frenzy without any care at all! I'm always amazed at such bounty.
Here are just a few comments about Kemah near Baytown, Texas, on Galveston Bay since I haven't had a chance to write until now. Our excursion on the Kemah Boardwalk near Baytown, Texas, marked the first time in many moons that I've seen Frank smiling from ear to ear. That boat ride really lifted our spirits along with the upbeat music playing while the salty spray wet our clothes to the skin.
We both love to go fast and getting wet was certainly a plus considering the triple digit temperatures. I must mention the beautiful girl who "danced" on the bow of the boat all during the trip, keeping in perfect time with the beat of the music. Her smile and motions kept everyone wound up, and she only grabbed onto the rail when she knew a fast turn was coming up.
This ride on the Beast was hang-on, get groovin' fun, fun, fun! As we putted into port and turned around in the no-wake zone, we all joined in singing and arm waving to tunes like Y - M - C - A. Great advertising for those waiting on the dock since we were all obviously having a splendid time of it.
I finally got to wear my new bathing suit at the Baytown, Texas, KOA pool where I met a gal from, of all places, Richmond, Indiana (I'm from Kokomo, Indiana). It was great meeting another Hoosier and listening to her new husband tell stories about how they met and married just recently. I really didn't get much swimming done because of the non-stop conversation.
These two love-birds met while playing Scrabble on the Internet! After months of online conversation, she flew to Texas to meet this mystery man. He has 20 grand and great-grandchildren, and she has two grandchildren back in Indiana. The two of them seemed wonderfully happy together and were looking foward to fishing for sharks off the pier that evening. Really, that's what they were having the most fun doing.
I like to tuck memories of chance encounters like this one away to use as future grist for writing novels. Sometimes I don't realize where the ideas and dialogue come from when I'm sailing along writing. Chances are the inspiration comes from tidbits gleaned way back when in some poolside chatter or on some street corner who- knows-where. The brain works in mysterious circular patterns. Imagine what clever ideas will crop up after a six-week roadtrip from the Catskills to the Bayou!
The pups are very happy with a whole house to run around in and a pet door to let them into the jungle that has developed in the backyard. In fact, all four of us are so very grateful for special angles watching over us on the road for such a long time. It's a cozy feeling to be safely back home again!
Get ready, get set, I'm home again and ready to put pen to paper on novel number three.
Love and hugs,
Cheryl - "The writer is in." My kids will remember what that means.
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